My childhood wasn’t necessarily the happiest of times. Growing up, my mother suffered a series of heart-related issues; it seemed as though she spent more time at the hospital than at home with her little girl. Being that I was a difficult child to put up with, especially as a single mother, and only made things worse because I refused to stay at home with a babysitter, I often accompanied my mom during her hospital visits. At the time, I didn’t understand what was going on or the severity of her sickness, but I knew that as long as we were at the hospital, the two of us were safe. It wasn’t just innocence or ignorance, but rather a deep trust in the doctors and their ability to help my mother. After countless hospital visits, I knew that I wanted to join this profession committed to helping others. Today, my mother is healthy and free of any serious heart complications, but I am just as motivated to make a profound impact on the lives of others the way the doctors did when I was a little girl.
Pursuing an education as a biological science major with a pre-medicine emphasis will provide me the foundation to successfully achieve my dream of becoming a medical professional. Many biology courses demand students to memorize insane amounts of information; oftentimes, you can find such students stressed in the library at 2 a.m. studying heaping piles of flashcards, preparing unbelievably detailed notes for anatomy, or simply crying over an organic chemistry textbook. If being a biology major was easy, I wouldn’t find it as rewarding as I do, nor would I even consider pursuing a degree in this field. If it didn’t challenge me, it wouldn’t change me as a person. Furthermore, while this may seem quite obvious if I wasn’t in love with biology, I wouldn’t force myself to study the sciences so intensely. My passion is learning about various realms of biology including genetics, anatomy, microbiology, and the list goes on. I take part in such classes with a smile on my face, as if this is my calling in life; I study biology simply for the joy of learning.
I have always had an insatiable desire for knowledge. I never seemed to understand how the majority of my peers did not find learning as fulfilling and encaptivating as I did; how could one not feel the overflowing joy of uncovering new realms of thinking? The mere idea that there is an endless bounty of information, an unfathomable number of subjects that one could never possibly uncover, brings me joy. There is always something new to discover, a new way to better myself, and what really makes learning one of the sweetest parts of life is that it is absolutely free, inexhaustible, and completely mine; no one can take away what I know.
While I undoubtedly love learning, there are some challenges that I face and most likely will continue to face as I progress through my academic career. Picture this, for example, it’s late at night and I am sitting at my desk feeling absolutely exhausted staring down at what seems to be a growing list of assignments and tasks that I must complete. I think to myself “Is this even worth it?”, “Why should I even try?”. No one likes to constantly sacrifice their sleep, time, and overall well-being to study for hours on end; at least, I don’t. Although learning may at times be overwhelming, I stop to wonder about where I will be in two, ten, or even twenty years from now. Whether it’s being at UIC doing what I love most or working alongside the greatest minds in the country on the next new innovative heart transplant procedure, I take that moment to stop and really think about what makes me excited to learn; I take that fuel from my daydreams and use it to ignite the flames of my love for learning. The payoff of learning will always trump any stress that I may experience. Not everyone has the privilege to learn, so even if there are times when I may find myself stressed and unmotivated, I will never take my education for granted.